The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the Government for Governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalties thereon.
The invention relates to military ordnance and in particular to munitions. Specifically, it relates to sabots for sub-caliber dense metal penetrators.
Saboted sub-caliber dense metal penetrators, when stably launched at a desired velocity level, have demonstrated the capability to produce greatly improved penetration over that of conventional bore-size ammunition. However, difficulties have been encountered in finding materials, suitable for fabrication of a one-piece, homogeneous, plastics sabot, which will consistently provide the required strength, as well as the operational properties that are necessary to achieve design performance levels.
Sabots fabricated from materials which have demonstrated excellent operational properties and characteristics, such as positive uniform separation, stable penetrator launch, and accurate target patterns, could only be launched at less than optimum performance levels. Attempts to achieve the design performance resulted in sabot failures, such as the base end being sheared away.
Conversely, sabots fabricated from materials having sufficient strength to withstand the base loads generated during the launching, exhibited non-uniform and unpredictable separation. The non-uniform and unpredictable separation resulted in large penetrator yaws and poor target patterns.
Although it has been shown that substantial gains in sabot base load performance levels can be achieved through increases in the penetrator diameter, these gains were essentially negated by exterior and terminal ballistic disadvantages of the larger and heavier penetrator. The result has been very little improvement in the effective range.
To overcome the aforementioned problems, the prior art solution has been the development of a sabot having an internal area multiplier built into the sabot structure. The primary object of the prior art area multiplier has been to solve the sabot base failure problem. The base failure problem was caused by the mass of the missile tending to remain at rest as the launch of the sabot, surrounding the missile, was initiated. The base of the sabot in back of the missile simply failed.
The prior art sabot, containing the prior art area multiplier incorporated in the structure, provided a configuration that increased the sabot base strength. The prior art area multiplier provided the sabot base strength benefits of an increased diameter with only a minimal increase in the launched mass. At the same time, this use of this prior art area multiplier in the sabot, permitted the use of a penetrator of optimal design from an exterior and terminal ballistic standpoint. It also retained the operational benefits of sabot material which was otherwise acceptable.
The prior art sabot utilized a flat, disc-like, area multiplier which was molded into a plastics sabot and the missile, or penetrator rests upon the prior art area multiplier when the missile or penetrator was placed in the sabot for launching.
The aforementioned prior art sabot, with the prior art flat, disc-like, area multiplier incorporated in it, produced substantial gains in satisfactory operating pressure of the sabot, with design velocity being achieved without any base failures.
However, the aforementioned prior art sabot with the prior art flat, disc-like, area multiplier incorporated in it, resulted in another problem. The projectile, such as a penetrator, lacked a uniform spin impartment as it was launched, with a resultant degradation in accuracy and terminal effectiveness. Results varied from round to round that were fired.
The aforementioned failure of the prior art sabot, with the prior art area multiplier, regarding uniform spin impartment, is a direct result of the loss of base drive previously provided by engagement of the penetrator and the plastics sabot material and/or rotational slippage of the area multiplier within the sabot. The penetrator tends to initially remain at rest as the sabot begins its spin as it begins the launch. The present invention overcomes these problems.
The present invention provides an area multiplier that increases the operating pressure level of plastics saboted sub-caliber dense metal penetrators while also providing a positive uniform spin impartment. This combined advantage is not reliably obtainable with the prior art area multiplier in plastics sabots. Thus, the present invention eliminates the previously experienced base failure, and also eliminates the rotational slippage of the area multiplier and the rotational slippage of the missile or projectile within the plastics sabot, and provides positive uniform spin impartment to the missile or projectile as it is launched.
The configuration of the present area multiplier of this invention and its incorporation into a plastics sabot is described hereinafter.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an area multiplier for a sabot that will not rotate within the sabot upon being launched.
It is another object of this invention to provide an area multiplier for a sabot that will lock in place a carried projectile in the sabot so that it will not rotate therein during launching.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an area multiplier for a sabot that will impart a positive uniform spin to a projectile carried in a sabot, at the time of being launched.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an area multiplier for a sabot that will increase the operating pressure level of the sabot.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in light of the following description of the preferred embodiment.